Alcon, Inc. (ACL) recently entered into an in-licensing agreement with Potentia Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held biotechnology company that focuses on the development of medicines for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Alcon gained the right to develop Potentia's leading drug candidate, POT-4, for the treatment of AMD. Alcon also gained the right to acquire Potentia’s shares on the achievement of certain development milestones and if Alcon opts to continue with the development of POT-4.   Alcon will make upfront payments to Potentia for the initial license and option rights. Potentia is also entitled to receive future payments based on the achievement of several clinical and global regulatory approval milestones for different therapeutic indications and on Alcon's decision to proceed with development. Potentia will also receive royalties based on sales of any products that are approved and commercialized under this agreement.   POT-4 is a complement inhibitor, which is ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 18, 2009 – Zacks Equity Research highlights ON Semiconductor (ONNN) as the Bull of the Day and Developers Diversified (DDR) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Alcon Inc.(ACL), AstraZeneca (AZN) and Allergan, Inc.(AGN).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2676

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

ON Semiconductor (ONNN) is an OEM of primarily analog semiconductors used within a diverse set of end markets. June quarter results beat consensus expectations, with management guiding for stronger results in the September quarter.

Recent acquisitions, a broad product portfolio, a well diversified business across end markets and geographies, restructuring actions and debt reduction initiatives are other positive factors.

While competition is strong as ever and restrictive covenants and some residual integration

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Yesterday, ISTA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ISTA) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its drug candidate, Bepreve, for the treatment of ocular itching associated with allergic conjunctivitis in patients two years and above. The drug is approved as a twice-daily prescription eye drop treatment. ISTA filed the New Drug Application for the drug (bepotastine ophthalmic solution) on Nov 13, 2008.  As a reminder, the advisory committee of the FDA had recommended the drug in June. The seven-member panel had voted unanimously in favor of Bepreve after reviewing comprehensive safety and efficacy data from ISTA's clinical program.  Bepreve is expected to be available to ophthalmologists and patients in the United States in the fourth quarter of 2009. The company, which expects to recognize revenues from the drug from this year, is expanding its sales force for this purpose.  ISTA has three drugs on the ...

Abbott (ABT) yesterday entered into a definitive agreement whereby it will acquire Visiogen, Inc., a privately-held company, for $400 million in cash. Visiogen is focused on the development of innovative products for cataract and refractive patients.

The deal will provide Abbott with access to Visiogen’s next-generation accommodating intraocular lens (IOL) technology, which helps address presbyopia in cataract patients. Visiogen’s first commercial application, Synchrony, is currently available in Europe and under Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review in the U.S.

Synchrony is designed to deliver improved vision at all distances, potentially eliminating the need for glasses or contact lenses, reducing glare and nighttime halos, and improving contrast sensitivity.

This deal is in-line with Abbott’s goal of strengthening its ophthalmic portfolio. As a reminder, Abbott entered the ophthalmology market earlier this year with its acquisition of Advanced Medical Optics. The acquisition of Advanced Medical Optics should help Abbott build its strong medical device business

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ISTA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ISTA) yesterday announced that its once-per-day eye drug Xibrom QD displayed successful results in a late-stage study. The multi-center, randomized, double-masked, parallel-group study included 299 subjects who underwent cataract operation in one eye.   ISTA revealed that Xibrom QD eye drops were significantly better than placebo at curing eye inflammation 15 days post cataract surgery. The drug was also successful in eliminating eye pain one day following surgery. No serious adverse events were observed and the safety profile appeared to be consistent with the company’s twice a day Xibrom version, which has already hit the market.   The U.S. marketing rights to Xibrom, which is used for the treatment of ocular inflammation following cataract surgery, were acquired by ISTA in 2002 and the product was launched in the U.S. in 2005. As per IMS data, sales in the first half of 2009 were $33.8 million....

Yesterday, Alcon, Inc. (ACL) reported financial results for the second quarter of 2009. Global sales declined 3.4% to $1,677 million in the reported quarter (up 3.3% excluding the impact of foreign exchange fluctuations). Revenues were slightly above our forecast of $1,671 million.  Net earnings rose 2.6% to $582 million, or $1.94 per diluted share. This was well above our estimate of $1.71 per diluted share. EPS benefited from a sharp reduction in SG&A spend, a lower tax rate and higher net interest income. SG&A spend benefited from cost reduction programs and foreign exchange fluctuations.  International sales decreased 6.4% in the quarter but increased by 6% on an operational basis, excluding the foreign exchange impact. We expect international sales, especially in emerging markets, to remain strong for the foreseeable future.  Meanwhile, strong contributions from advanced technology AcrySof intraocular lenses and share gains and market growth in ...

Obama's Healthcare Plan Is Big Bark, Small Bite by Jason Napodano, CFA

When President Obama's administration released the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, drug stocks quickly dropped. Fears of socialized medicine, or "Hillary-Care 2.0" turned investors away from the sector.

Was the drop warranted?

There are 6 key components to healthcare reform that could have a meaningful impact on pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the near future.Four of these are potentially negative, whereas the other 2 are potentially positive.

First Potential Negative: Increasing Pricing Rebates

The new proposal calls for an increase in Medicaid rebates from the current level of 15% to 21%. This equates to a 6% decrease in pricing power by all the companies in our universe into the Medicaid market. If we delve deeper into the ramification of this

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Healthcare Products and Supplies is a unique sub sector of healthcare that holds the potential for great growth opportunities in the coming years. The sub sector is extremely vast, with companies providing products and supplies to a variety of medical areas such as cosmetic surgery, eye care, cardiology, orthopedics, and diabetes to list just a few. Within these major areas, HCP&S ’s products are further divided into higher tech products such as drug eluting stents (DESs) and lower tech products such as hypodermic needles and scalpels.

In addition to the diversification of products, there are many other variables that affect the profitability and riskiness of companies in the industry. One example would be the geographic revenue breakdown, since revenue concentration in foreign markets typically increases risks associated with exchange rate fluctuations as well as changes in demand. However, geographic

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Alcon Inc. is a Switzerland developer of pharmaceuticals, surgical tools, contact lens care, and other products for eye diseases and disorders. On April 23rd it raised its expectations for 2008 earnings to $6.39-$6.49 per share on revenue of $6.4 to $6.5 billion, above previous guidance.

This continues a very bullish trend of strong earnings for this medical company that is standing out as the leader in a group that is slowly starting to rise as CYBX, ABMD, EXAC, NUVA, and EW all have the same chart patterns the past six months. As this group comes into favor though, this company stands out based on the fundamentals.

EPS has grown 17%, 16%, 40%, 27%, 25%, 31%, 13%, and 18% the past eight quarters. Along with that stunning growth for a big stock, sales are just as impressive with growth of 12%, 12%, 16%, 14%, 12%, 11%, 20%, and 16% the past eight quarters. …